The news confirmed by HBO (Max) is still hot and moving the fan base of the Sex and the City series (which turns 25 in June 2023) and And Just Like That (which returns for a second season at the end of the month): we will have Samantha Jones (Kim Cattrall) back. Before tempers get carried away further, it will only be a quick appearance, as a cliffhanger to something future and bigger, so the description implies that it will only be a cameo at the end of the season.

There is not much information about how Samantha’s interaction with her friends will be, apparently, it will be a scene alone. This makes sense, after all, Kim publicly broke up with Sarah Jessica Parker and split the crew and cast between those who supported the two.

I have long evaluated here at MiscelAna the importance of Samantha Jones in the franchise scenario and how her absence would be – and was – felt in the return of the series, in the format of And Just Like That. The alternative used was smart, after all, with technology shortening distances and replacing physical presence in many cases, the most obvious alternative to “kill” Samantha, who had already survived cancer, could be discarded without suffering. The alternative was to include the fight between the two actresses for fiction, putting a ‘breakup’ between Carrie and Samantha on professional issues, and with the transfer of the promoter to England, physically moving away from the old friends.

It worked well because the creative decision to eliminate Mr. Big (Chris Noth) definitely from Carrie’s (Carrie Bradshaw) life and having tragically lost actor Willie Garson, the dear Stanford Blatch, in the middle of recording, made this return something complex. If EVERYONE died like this, the season would be even sadder than it was, even if there was a perfect explanation which was the Covid-19 pandemic. I would not only have used this because it would have brought the characters closer to the reality we were living in 2021, with health restrictions and a lot of panics, in addition to the fact that, yes, but because of it we have also lost many people to the virus. But the writers chose to say goodbye to Big with a heart attack and suddenly move Stanford to another country.

The proposal for the return of the women from Sex and The City, now in their 50s, was seen with cynicism by fans because there were two films that continued the series, and the second already signaled wear and tear in the narrative. Unsurprisingly, as And Just Like That needed to get Big out of the way for Carrie to return to single life in New York, there would be grief and it was the biggest mark of that return, bringing the estrangement of sadness so deep and complex to overcome like that of widowhood.

The return also allowed the creators to address the issue of the cast’s lack of diversity, though it did have a bit of a problem with building the challenge into the narrative – Charlotte (Kristin Davis) openly tries to open up her friendships to more diverse people, which sounds like everything of the character: prejudiced, calculated and tedious, even if well-intentioned.

Miranda’s side (Cynthia Nixon) was worse, especially after she was the central point of the drama between Carrie and Big in the film, having been betrayed by Steve (David Eigenberg) and not forgiving him. The proposal, which is interesting, poses in Miranda and Steve one of the existing problems of a long marriage where friendship and companionship eliminate passion and sex from the relationship, with Miranda rediscovering her femininity in a homo affective union with Che (Sarah Ramirez). The most passionate fans pointed out several problems in this plot: the fact that Miranda had already considered having a relationship with a woman and discarded the attraction; the fact that Miranda was one of Samantha’s biggest critics when she dated Maria (Sonia Braga) and the fact that she had lost her sexual attraction to Steve in the film, but now the ‘blame’ for everything rests solely on his shoulders, like the one leaning against and without the harmony that brought them together before. The fact that Steve was Miranda’s punching bag for years on Sex and The City was also one of the reactive elements from fans because he’s just a nice guy and Miranda could fall in love with someone else without needing to justify what some see as ‘character flaw’ in Steve’s (even exaggerated) kindness. Be that as it may, Miranda and Che are a couple and will be back in season two.

With all that, having Samantha in London and occasionally texting Carrie left a door open as we watched the parade of characters tested in the iconic character’s chair. That’s right, the cafe between friends that left the fourth chair vacant was occupied by different characters throughout the series, and apparently who was crowned as “the new Samantha Jones” was the incredible Seema Patel (Sarita Choudhury), Carrie’s new friend and which has the same posture and independence as her predecessor.

If the absence of Samantha Jones was fixed, why bring her back again?

As it has been reported, and it makes sense, the only scene recorded by Kim Cattrall is of a phone call between Samantha and Carrie, which was filmed on March 22, in New York, without seeing or speaking with the stars of the series. Now, the behind-the-scenes images of costume designer Patricia Field, legendary in her Sex and the City creations, but who did not work on And Just Like That, are more contextualized. Patricia is very close to Kim and she was the one who “dressed Samantha for her scene”.

Who once again pierced the surprise of the series was the NY Post, which forced the official confirmation from HBO (Max) and thus, probably spoiled the biggest surprise that would end the series. As And Just Like That‘s numbers weren’t phenomenal, there’s nothing set in stone for a third season and it could be effectively the franchise’s farewell. After all, Carrie will join Aidan (John Corbett) and only Samantha’s image would be missing to have a sense of closure. Even with the spoiler, I thought it was fabulous!

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